The Illuminati Sanctum (The Relic Hunters 6) by David Leadbeater (best mobile ebook reader .txt) 📕

Hoods grabbed hold of Bodie’s arms and pushed him forward. Together, the five of them were herded toward the altar.

The goat head swiveled toward them.

“Lay to waste the fruits of the earth,” a disembodied voice said. “So that His glory may feed the masses.”

Bodie stood, body tense, ten feet from the altar, the man wearing the goat’s head to his left. He twisted his wrists furiously against the handcuffs encircling his wrists. The dark helped. The rapt attention of the Hoods upon their master helped.

“Who will die first?” the goat-head asked.

Bodie couldn’t speak. The cloying evil filling the room was debilitating, disturbingly overwhelming. He’d never been able to understand why some people accepted horrible fates without challenge, but the heavy, intimidating, threat factor inside this room gave him some insight.

There was no hope.

“Who will die first?” the goat asked.

Bodie cleared his throat, but the hand holding the dagger thrust toward Cassidy. Without hesitation, the four Hoods gathered around the redhead put their hands on her shoulders and propelled her forward until she was standing at the foot of the altar.

“No!” Bodie shouted. “Don’t do this. We can help you. We can help you, damn it!”

The goat-head turned toward him, slanted eyes somehow sparkling with fire. “To help? You would help the Great Dragon?”

“Yes! Of course. We would help the Illuminati. Help you find the ten sanctums. That’s what we do!”

 It was half in Bodie’s mind that this entire kidnap, this elaborate ceremony, was designed to force the relic hunters into working for the Illuminati. At first, he’d been against it. Now... it was their only way out.

“Do you believe the sanctums exist? That the crucible exists? That the ancient causeways exist? That His glory shall save us all in the end?”

“Mostly, yeah,” Bodie said. “But more importantly... we’re the best bloody team in the business. Give us a chance, and we’ll find a snowball in Hell.”

The horned head tipped marginally. “An interesting analogy, considering...”

Bodie winced. “There’s nothing we can’t find.”

“Your proposal, whilst interesting, should have been made earlier. It is all very well to bow and scrape when you are about to die.”

“You misunderstand—” Bodie began.

But the horned man was done. Turning toward Cassidy and the Hoods surrounding her, he leveled the dagger. “Prepare her.”

Bodie was never sure if it was the unnerving goat’s head, the dagger, or the Hoods tearing at her clothes, but Cassidy was galvanized into action.

Flinging out her arms, she rapped one man across the face with a pair of picked and dangling handcuffs, and kicked another in the groin. Bodie swept his own arms up at the same time, also having picked the cuffs, and using them as weapons to draw blood from the cheeks and foreheads of his enemies.

Jemma, also free, picked up a lighted candle and clunked a Hood around the head with it.

“We might be relic hunters,” Bodie said as he fought. “But we’re thieves too. Picking locks is kind of our thing.”

Two Hoods fell away, but these men were trained, and they were strong. Two would be plenty enough to subdue him and there were dozens in the room. Cassidy could deal with more, and maybe Yasmine, but Cassidy was fighting four by the altar and Yasmine still had her hands cuffed behind her back.

The Minervals were coming too. Dropping their black books, Discord, Adelaide and Cronos lurched forward.

Bodie grabbed a candlestick and threw it at the plush chairs. Ducking, he rolled and knocked over two men, came up and grabbed another candle. This one he hurled against the wall, seeing candle grease and flame spatter across a painting.

Jemma leapt from fixtures and chair and tables, evading her captors with nimble, conservative movements and trying to do as much damage as possible.

Yasmine and Lucie were on their knees and their backs, rolling, kicking and making it as hard as possible for the Hoods to subdue them. Bodie knew they needed everyone to make this work and launched himself at the Hoods standing above Yasmine. Bowling into them, shoulder first, he sent several sprawling and hit the floor at Yasmine’s side.

“Roll,” he said.

It would take time. The Hoods were already recovering. Cassidy had seen his intention and broken away from the crowd around the altar, lunging at the Hoods grabbing at him. Her attack afforded Bodie precious extra seconds to free Yasmine and Lucie of their restraints.

In addition, the plush chairs shot up in flame, startling several Hoods and the Minervals. For the first time, Bodie sensed panic set in. A fire would not only destroy precious possessions, it would attract attention. Suddenly, the priorities of the Hoods changed.

Yasmine rolled free. Bodie got to his knees. Cassidy was shoving two Hoods into a third. Jemma threw another candle, this one straight at the horned man, and watched his robe go up in flames.

Cries filled the room. The Hoods all sprang to the man’s aid. The Minervals screamed for extinguishers and moved to the flaming surfaces.

Bodie caught sight of a thin slither of hope. “Back the way we came.”

Together, the five ran for the door, threw it open, and dashed away from the dark room and its devilry. The first Hood they encountered was alone, and no match for Cassidy and Yasmine working in tandem.

The second was armed, but distracted when Jemma donned the cloak of the first Hood and shouted for his help. When he arrived, Yasmine sent him into oblivion with a three-pronged candelabrum.

“Glock.” Cassidy plucked the gun from his belt and checked the ammo. “Now we’re in business.”

Minutes later, they were pressed up against the door to the courtyard. Bodie stared through the narrow vision panel. “Eight,” he said. “At least four are armed. We’re not going anywhere without a major distraction.”

“Like a fire maybe?” Cassidy said, disgruntled at their lack